Ohio Supreme Court suspends law license of ex-judge

Staff report

CLEVELAND

The Ohio Supreme Court suspended the law license of Diane Vettori-Caraballo, a former Mahoning County Court judge who was sentenced last month to 30 months in prison for stealing from the estate of a deceased client.

The court made the decision Monday to suspend her license on an interim basis because Vettori-Caraballo is a convicted felon. The matter was referred to the court’s disciplinary counsel for investigation.

U.S. Northern District Court Judge Dan Aaron Polster on June 13 sentenced Vettori-Caraballo to 30 months each on her counts of mail fraud, structuring bank deposits and making false statements to law enforcement. Those sentences are to be served concurrently.

Vettori-Caraballo also will be subject to three years of supervision upon release and is ordered to pay $328,000 in restitution, an amount on which prosecutors and defense attorneys stipulated Thursday, court officials said.

She is ordered to surrender to U.S. marshals no later than noon Sept. 6.

Federal prosecutors accused Vettori-Caraballo in November of stealing between $100,200 and $328,000 from the estate of her former client, Dolores Falgiani, for whom Vettori-Caraballo helped prepare a will.

Much of that money was cash Vettori-Caraballo found hidden at Falgiani’s home after Falgiani’s death in March 2016, prosecutors said.

Vettori-Caraballo was elected judge of the Mahoning County Area Court in Sebring in 2002 and re-elected twice. She was suspended from the seat in January 2018, after criminal charges were filed.